2018 Stanley Cup Finals Game 1: Capitals vs Golden Knights NHL Odds

The Vegas Golden Knights have made it to the Stanley Cup Finals as an expansion team — a feat accomplished by only two other times, by the Toronto Arenas in 1918 (who would go on to win the Cup), and by the St. Louis Blues in 1968 (who would get swept in four games by the Montreal Canadiens). Their opponents are the Washington Capitals, whose lone appearance in the Stanley Cup Finals prior to this year came in 1998, when they got swept by the Detroit Red Wings. The series opens in the desert on Memorial Day night; check out our NHL odds preview for Game One.

2018 Stanley Cup Finals Game 1: Capitals vs Golden Knights NHL Odds

When: Monday, May 28, 2018, 8:00pm ET Where: T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, NV TV: NBC Radio: WFED 1500 AM Washington / KRLV 1340 AM Las Vegas Live Stream: NBCSports.com NHL Odds: Washington (+126) / Vegas (-139)

Why should you bet on the Capitals?

This is not the same Washington Capitals team that won the President’s Trophy in years past, only to fall off the table in the postseason. Alex Ovechkin can sense his Stanley Cup window closing — and this is the first season when he has made it to the Final, at the age of 32. He led the NHL with 49 goals this season, leading the league despite his advancing age. It looked like the Caps wouldn’t even make it out of the first round, though, as they lost the first two games at home against Columbus. Then they stormed back to win the next four. They finally made it past the Pittsburgh Penguins in the second round, and then beat Tampa Bay in the conference finals, a series in which they won the first two games in Florida, lost the next three, but then won the final two by a combined 7-0 margin. The Capitals rank #2 in the NHL in goals per game in the postseason, at 3.47. They have the postseason scoring leader in Evgeny Kuznetsov (11 goals, 24 points) and the great Ovechkin (12 goals, 22 points), which means that Ovechkin finally hasn’t had to carry the team himself in the playoffs. Nicklas Backstrom has missed four games due to injury but is still chipping in 1.07 points per game. Braden Holtby didn’t even start in net for the Washington Capitals to start the postseason, but he has played well since coming on to start Game Three of the first round, after the team dropped two to the Blue Jackets.

Why should you put your money on the Golden Knights?

It’s hard to believe now, but Vegas didn’t even have their roster in place at this time last year, as the expansion draft had yet to be held. The sports books listed odds between 150-1 and 500-1 for Vegas to hoist the Stanley Cup after their first season. Their over/under win total for the season was 26 ½ (which they passed on January 2), and their over/under point total was 68 ½ (which they passed on January 30. They shattered every record for expansion teams, won the Pacific Division, swept the Los Angeles Kings in the opening round, and then took down San Jose in six games, and then Winnipeg in five. If they win the Cup, they would join Leicester City, winner of the English Premier League in 2016, as the professional championship team with the longest odds. So how do the Golden Knights do it? It helps to have an intrepid goalie behind you, and Marc-Andre Fleury is the right fit. He led the Pittsburgh Penguins (who lost in the second round to the Capitals) to the Stanley Cup Finals last year, only to be replaced by Matt Murray, who had returned from injury (and whose spotty play this year contributed to the Penguins’ early exit). According to Sean Tierney with ChartingHockey, Fleury has stopped 18 more goals than an average goalie would have in the same games in the postseason. Their line of Jonathan Marchessault, Reilly Smith and William Karlsson has scored 29 of the team’s 41 goals in the postseason, more than any other line from any other team. Their top three defensemen, Nate Schmidt, Collin Miller and Shea Theodore, each anchor a pairing on the blue line and can move the puck up the ice quickly, turning opponent mistakes into odd-man rushes.

Expert Pick and Final Score Prediction

There are redemption stories on both sides here — the search for the first pro sports championship for DC since 1991, and the revenge of all of the players exposed to the expansion draft less than a year ago. Vegas has done nothing but win all season long, and into the postseason as well. Washington overcame two of the best offenses in the NHL in Pittsburgh and Tampa Bay to land in the final, and those convincing wins over the Lightning in Games Six and Seven were impressive in their dominant form. I see Washington hoisting the Cup, but I also see Vegas and their raucous home crowd taking a 3-2 win in the opener.